NY A03284

Establishes the City University of New York Center for Excellence in Urban Education at a CUNY college accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education to develop programs addressing urban education needs.

Center shall collaborate with urban teachers and school districts to recruit minority teacher candidates, increase productivity in critical shortage fields (science, mathematics, reading, special education, bilingual education), and provide high-quality clinical education in urban locations.

Creates the Regents Public School Teacher Loan Forgiveness Program awarding 80 annual awards to certified teachers who agree to teach in state-designated teacher shortage areas, with each award consisting of two consecutive annual payments up to $10,000 per year.

Award recipients must serve 10 months per annual payment received (minimum 24 months total) as full-time teachers in designated shortage areas and serve as extracurricular activity advisors or coaches; failure to comply triggers a repayment formula based on months of service not completed.

Recipients must report annually to the New York State Higher Education Services Corporation on their service performance; failure to file required reports within 30 days may result in fines up to $1,000, waivable for good cause.